Radar motion detection using stepped frequency in wireless power transmission system

ABSTRACT

An example method of wireless power transmission includes generating, by a receiver, location data associated with one or more objects based upon one or more object detection signals reflected from the one or more objects and indicating a location of each respective object in relation to the receiver. The method also includes transmitting, by the receiver, one or more communications signals containing the location data to the transmitter. The method further includes receiving, by the receiver, from one or more antennas of the transmitter one or more power waves having one or more waveform characteristics, wherein the characteristics are based on the location data generated for each respective object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/272,553, entitled “RadarMotion Detection Using Stepped Frequency in Wireless Power TransmissionSystem,” filed Dec. 29, 2015, which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/856,337, entitled “Systems and Methods for Wireless Power Charging,”filed Sep. 16, 2016, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application generally relates to wireless charging systems and thehardware and software components used in such systems.

BACKGROUND

Numerous attempts have been made to wirelessly transmit energy toelectronic devices, where a receiver can consume the transmission andconvert it to electrical energy. However, most conventional techniquesare unable to transmit energy at any meaningful distance. For example,magnetic resonance provides electric power to devices without requiringan electronic device to be wired to a power resonator. However, theelectronic device is required to be proximately located to a coil of thepower resonator (i.e., within a magnetic field). Other conventionalsolutions may not contemplate user mobility for users who are chargingtheir mobile devices or such solutions do not allow devices to beoutside of a narrow window of operability.

Wirelessly powering a remote electronic device requires a means foridentifying the location of electronic devices within a transmissionfield of a power-transmitting device. Conventional systems typicallyattempt to proximately locate an electronic device, so there are nocapabilities for identifying and mapping the spectrum of availabledevices to charge, for example, in a large coffee shop, household,office building, or other three-dimensional space in which electricaldevices could potentially move around. Moreover, what is needed is asystem for managing power wave production, both for directionalitypurposes and for power output modulation. Because many conventionalsystems do not contemplate a wide range of movement of the electronicdevices they service, what is also needed is a means for dynamically andaccurately tracking electronic devices that may be serviced by thepower-transmitting devices.

Wireless power transmission may need to satisfy certain regulatoryrequirements. These devices transmitting wireless energy may be requiredto adhere to electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure protection standardsfor humans or other living beings. Maximum exposure limits are definedby US and European standards in terms of power density limits andelectric field limits (as well as magnetic field limits). Some of theselimits are established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE), and some limits are establishedby European regulators for radiation exposure. Limits established by theFCC for MPE are codified at 47 CFR §1.1310. For electromagnetic field(EMF) frequencies in the microwave range, power density can be used toexpress an intensity of exposure. Power density is defined as power perunit area. For example, power density can be commonly expressed in termsof watts per square meter (W/m²), milliwatts per square centimeter(mW/cm²), or microwatts per square centimeter (μW/cm²).

Accordingly, it is desirable to appropriately administer the systems andmethods for wireless power transmission to satisfy these regulatoryrequirements. What is needed is a means for wireless power transmissionthat incorporates various safety techniques to ensure that humans orother living beings within a transmission field are not exposed to EMFenergy near or above regulatory limits or other nominal limits.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are systems and methods intended to address theshortcomings in the art and may provide additional or alternativeadvantages as well. Embodiments disclosed herein may generate andtransmit power waves that, as result of selecting their physicalwaveform characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, gain,direction) appropriately, converge at a predetermined location in atransmission field to generate a pocket of energy. Receivers associatedwith an electronic device being powered by the wireless charging system,may extract energy from these pockets of energy and then convert thatenergy into usable electric power for the electronic device associatedwith a receiver. The pockets of energy may manifest as athree-dimensional field (e.g., transmission field), where energy may beharvested by receivers positioned within or nearby a pocket of energy. Atechnique for identifying regions in the transmission field may beemployed to determine where pockets of energy should be formed and wherepower waves should not be transmitted. In one example, this techniquemay result in determination of one or more objects in proximity toreceivers by the receivers to let the transmitter know where the powerwaves should not be transmitted and null space shall be formed. In yetanother example, sensors may generate sensor data that may identify theone or more objects that the power waves should avoid. This sensor datamay be an additional or alternative form of data in comparison tolocation data associated to one or more objects generated by thereceivers, which may also be stored into a mapping memory for laterreference or computation.

In an embodiment, a method of wireless power transmission comprisesgenerating, by a receiver, location data associated with one or moreobjects based upon one or more object detection signals reflected fromthe one or more objects and indicating a location of each respectiveobject in relation to the receiver; transmitting, by the receiver, oneor more communications signals containing the location data to thetransmitter; and receiving, by the receiver, from one or more antennasof the transmitter one or more power waves having one or more waveformcharacteristics, wherein the characteristics are based on the locationdata generated for each respective object

In another embodiment, a method of wireless power transmission comprisesemitting, by a first antenna of a receiver, a plurality of outboundobject detection signals, each respective object detection signal havinga successively stepped frequency with respect to a preceding objectdetection signal; receiving, by a second antenna of the receiver, one ormore inbound object detection signals that are reflected from one ormore objects, wherein at least one inbound object detection signal isreflected from an object, and wherein the at least one inbound objectdetection signal indicates a location of the object in relation to thereceiver; generating, by a processor of the receiver, location dataassociated with each respective object based on the one or more inboundobject detection signals; transmitting, by a communications component ofthe receiver, to a transmitter one or more communication signalscontaining the location data associated with each of the one or moreobjects; and receiving, by a third antenna of the receiver, from thetransmitter one or more power waves having one or more characteristics,wherein the characteristics are based on the location data associatedwith the one or more objects.

In another embodiment, a receiver in a wireless power transmissionsystem comprises a first antenna configured to emit a plurality ofoutbound detection signals, each outbound detection signal having asuccessively stepped frequency; a second antenna configured to receive aplurality of inbound detection signals reflected from one or moreobjects, wherein one or more detection signals are reflected from anobject; a processor configured to generate location data associated witheach respective object based on the one or more inbound detectionsignals received from the respective object, wherein the location dataof each respective object indicates the location of the respectiveobject in relation to the receiver; a communications componentconfigured to transmit to the transmitter communications signalscontaining the location data associated with the one or more objects;and a third antenna configured to receive from the transmitter one ormore power waves having one or more characteristics causing the one ormore power waves to converge at a location proximate to the receiverbased on the location data associated with the one or more objects.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings constitute a part of this specification andillustrate embodiments of the invention. The present disclosure can bebetter understood by referring to the following figures. The componentsin the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead beingplaced upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1A shows components of a wireless power transmission system,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 1B shows components of a receiver of a wireless power transmissionsystem, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a method of transmission of power waves in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a method of transmission of power waves in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated inthe drawings, and specific language will be used here to describe thesame. It should be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is intended through the descriptions of such exemplaryembodiments. Alterations and further modifications of the exemplaryembodiments and additional applications implementing the principles ofthe inventive features, which would occur to a person skilled in therelevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to beconsidered within the scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 1A shows components of an exemplary wireless power transmissionsystem 100. The exemplary system 100 may include transmitters 102, anexternal mapping memory 104, a receiver 106, and an electronic device107 to be charged. The transmitters 102 may send various types of wavessuch as communication signals 108 and power waves 110, into atransmission field, which may be the two or three-dimensional space intowhich the transmitters 102 may transmit the power waves 110.

The transmitters 102 may transmit the power waves 110, which may becaptured by the receiver 106 configured to convert the energy of thepower waves 110 into electrical energy, for the electronic device 107associated with the receiver 106. The receiver 106 may include circuitrythat may convert the captured power waves 110 into a useable source ofelectrical energy on behalf of the electronic device 107 associated withthe receiver 106. In some embodiments, the transmitters 102 mayintelligently transmit the power waves 110 into the transmission field,by manipulating characteristics of the power waves 110 (e.g., phase,gain, direction, frequency) based on location associated to one or moreobjects such as humans 119 with respect to the receiver 106 and/or thetransmitters 102. In some implementations, the transmitters 102 maymanipulate the characteristics of the power waves 110 so that thetrajectories of the power waves 110 cause the power waves 110 toconverge at a predetermined location within a transmission field (e.g.,a 3D location or region in space), resulting in constructive ordestructive interference.

The transmitters 102 may comprise or be associated with one or moretransmitter processors (not shown), a communications component 112, andan antenna array 114.

The one or more transmitter processors may control, manage, andotherwise govern the various processes, functions, and components of thetransmitters 102. The one or more transmitter processors may beconfigured to process and communicate various types of data (e.g.,location data associated with the receiver 106, location data associatedwith the one or more objects such as humans 119). Additionally oralternatively, a transmitter processor of the transmitters 102 maymanage execution of various processes and functions of the transmitters102, and may manage the components of the transmitters 102. For example,the transmitter processor may determine an interval at which a beaconsignal may be broadcast by a communication component 112, to identifythe receiver 106 that may inhabit the transmission field.

The communication component 112 may effectuate wired and/or wirelesscommunications to and from the receiver 106 of the system 100. In somecases, the communication component 112 may be an embedded component ofthe transmitter 102; and, in some cases, the communication component 112may be attached to the transmitter 102 through any wired or wirelesscommunications medium. The communication component 112 may compriseelectromechanical components (e.g., processor, antenna) that allow thecommunication component 112 to communicate various types of data withone or more receivers 106 via the communications signals 108. In someimplementations, the communications signals 108 may represent a distinctchannel for hosting communications, independent from the power waves110. The data may be communicated using the communications signals 108,based on predetermined wired or wireless protocols and associatedhardware and software technology. The communications component 112 mayoperate based on any number of communication protocols, such asBluetooth®, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Near-Field Communications (NFC),ZigBee, and others.

The data contained within the communications signals 108, for example,may contain location data associated with one or more sensitive objects,such as humans 119 received by the receiver 106, and may be used by thetransmitter processor to determine how the transmitter 102 may transmitsafe and effective power waves 110. In an embodiment, the transmitter102 may transmit safe and effective power waves 110 that generate apocket of energy 118, from which the receiver 106 may capture energy andconvert it to useable alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC)electricity. Using the communications signal 108, the transmitter 102may communicate data that may be used to, e.g., identify the receiver106 within the transmission field, determine whether the electronicdevice 107 or users are authorized to receive wireless charging servicesfrom the system 100, determine safe and effective waveformcharacteristics for the power waves 110, and hone the placement of thepocket of energy 118, among other possible functions. Furtherdescription and examples regarding safe and effective formation ofpockets of energy may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/856,337, entitled “Systems and Methods for Wireless Power Charging.”As an example, the communications component 112 of the transmitter 102may communicate (i.e., send and receive) different types of datacontaining various types of information. Non-limiting examples of theinformation may include a beacon message, a transmitter identifier (TXID), a device identifier (device ID) for an electronic device 107, auser identifier (user ID), the battery level for the device 107, thereceiver's 106 location in the transmission field, the objects 120location in the transmission field, and other such information.

Similarly, a communications component (shown in FIG. 1B) of the receiver106 may use the communications signal 108 to communicate data that maybe used to, e.g., alert transmitters 102 that the receiver 106 hasentered, or is about to enter, the transmission field, provide thelocation data generated that is associated with the one or moresensitive objects such as humans 119, provide information about theelectronic device 107 being charged by the receiver 103, indicate theeffectiveness of the power waves 110, and provide updated transmissionparameters that the transmitters 102 may use to adjust the power waves110, as well as other types of useful data.

The antenna array 114 of the transmitters 102, which may be a set of oneor more antennas, is configured to transmit the power waves 110. In someembodiments, the antenna array 114 may comprise antennas, which may beconfigurable “tiles” comprising an antenna, and zero or more integratedcircuits controlling the behavior of the antenna, such as generating thepower waves 110 having predetermined characteristics (e.g., amplitude,frequency, trajectory, phase). An antenna of the antenna array 114 maytransmit a series of the power waves 110 having the predeterminedcharacteristics, such that the series of the power waves 110 arrive at agiven location within the transmission field, and exhibit thosecharacteristics. Taken together, the antennas of the antenna array 114may transmit the power waves 110 that intersect at the given location(usually where the receiver 106 is detected), and due to theirrespective characteristics, form the pocket of energy 118, from whichthe receiver 106 may collect energy and generate electricity. It shouldbe appreciated that, although the exemplary system 100 describesradio-frequency based power waves 110, additional or alternativetransmitting arrays or elements and/or wave-based technologies may beused (e.g., ultrasonic, infrared, magnetic resonance) to wirelesslytransmit power from the transmitter 102 to the receiver 106.

The transmitters 102 may use data corresponding to the location data ofthe receiver 106 and the object, such as a human 119, in thetransmission field to determine where and how the antenna array 114should transmit the power waves 110. The location data of the receiver106 and the object such as human 119 may indicate for the transmitter102 where the power waves 110 should be transmitted and the pockets ofenergy 118 should be formed, and, in some cases, where the power waves110 should not be transmitted. The location data may be interpreted byprocessors associated with the transmitter 102, from which thetransmitter 102 may determine how the antennas of the antenna array 114should form and transmit the power waves 110. When determining how thepower waves should be formed, the transmitter 102 determines waveformcharacteristics for each of the power waves 110 to be transmitted fromeach of the respective antennas of the antenna array 114. Non-limitingexamples of waveform characteristics for the power waves 110 mayinclude: amplitude, phase, gain, frequency, and direction, among others.

In one example, to generate the pocket of energy 118 at a particularlocation, the transmitter 102 identifies a subset of antennas from theantenna array 114 that sends the power waves 110 to transmit power tothe predetermined location, and then the transmitter 102 generates thepower waves 110 such that the power waves 110 transmitted from eachantenna of the subset have a comparatively different characteristics(e.g., phase, frequency, amplitude). In this example, awaveform-generating integrated circuit (not shown) of the transmitter102 can form a phased array of delayed versions of the power waves 110,apply different amplitudes to the delayed versions of the power waves110, and then transmit the power waves 110 from appropriate antennas. Inanother example, to generate the null space at a particular location ofthe object 120, the transmitter 102 identifies a subset of antennas fromthe antenna array 114 and sends the power waves 110 that converge at alocation of the object 119 such that their respective waveformcharacteristics add destructively with each other (i.e., waveformscancel each other out), thereby diminishing the amount of energyconcentrated at the object 119 location.

Although the exemplary embodiments described herein mention the use ofRF-based wave transmission technologies, it should be appreciated thatthe wireless charging techniques that might be employed are not belimited to such RF-based technologies and techniques. Rather, it shouldbe appreciated there are additional or alternative wireless chargingtechniques, which may include any number of technologies and techniquesfor wirelessly transmitting energy to a receiver that is capable ofconverting the transmitted energy to electrical power. Non-limitingexemplary transmission techniques for energy that can be converted by areceiving device into electrical power may include: ultrasound,microwave, laser light, infrared, or other forms of electromagneticenergy.

In some embodiments, control systems of transmitters 102 adhere toelectromagnetic field (EMF) exposure protection standards for humansubjects. Maximum exposure limits are defined by US and Europeanstandards in terms of power density limits and electric field limits (aswell as magnetic field limits). These include, for example, limitsestablished by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for MPE, andlimits established by European regulators for radiation exposure. Limitsestablished by the FCC for MPE are codified at 47 CFR §1.1310. Forelectromagnetic field (EMF) frequencies in the microwave range, powerdensity can be used to express an intensity of exposure. Power densityis defined as power per unit area. For example, power density can becommonly expressed in terms of watts per square meter (W/m2), milliwattsper square centimeter (mW/cm2), or microwatts per square centimeter(μW/cm2).

In some embodiments, the present systems and methods for wireless powertransmission 100 incorporate various safety techniques to ensure thathuman occupants in or near a transmission field are not exposed to EMFenergy near or above regulatory limits or other nominal limits. Onesafety method is to include a margin of error (e.g., about 10% to 20%)beyond the nominal limits, so that human subjects are not exposed topower levels at or near the EMF exposure limits. A second safety methodcan provide staged protection measures, such as reduction or terminationof wireless power transmission if humans (and in some embodiments, otherliving beings or sensitive objects) move toward a pocket of energy withpower density levels exceeding EMF exposure limits.

FIG. 1B shows components of the receiver 106 of the wireless powertransmission system 100, which identifies human subjects to ensure thathuman occupants are not exposed to power waves near or above regulatorylimits or other nominal limits. FIG. 1B will now be explained inconjunction with FIG. 1A. The receiver 106 may be used for powering orcharging an associated electronic device, which may be the electronicdevice 107 coupled to or integrated with the receiver 106. In anembodiment, the receiver 106 may include a housing. The housing can bemade of any material that may allow for object detection signals,communication signals, or power waves transmission and/or reception. Thehousing may include antennas 120 of various types, a processor 122, asignal generator 124, a communication component 126, and a memory 128.

The antennas 120 may comprise one or more object detection antennasObject detection antennas may emit a plurality of outbound objectdetection signals and then receive one or more inbound object detectionsignals. In some embodiments, the antennas 120 may a set of one or moreobject detection antennas configured to transmit outbound objectdetection signals, and another, separate set of object detectionantennas configured to receive inbound object detection signals. Theantennas 120 may further include a set of power antennas configured toreceive one or more power waves from a transmitter. Still other antennasmay be configured to receive data or communications signals and/orwaves. The antennas for sending and receiving object detection signals,antennas for reception of power waves, and antennas for sending andreceiving communication signals may be tuned to the same frequency ordifferent frequencies.

The receiver 106 may include a plurality of PCB layers, which mayinclude all the antennas 120 that transmit and receive object detectionsignals that are utilized for determining the location of the one ormore objects, such as a human being 119. PCBs may be single sided,double sided, and/or multi-layer. The PCB layers may be connected to thesingle processor 122 and/or to dedicated microprocessors.

In some implementations, the receiver 106 includes a plurality of PCBlayers that may include the antennas 120 for detecting reflected signalsfrom the object, such as a human 119. Furthermore, the range of theobject detection signals may be increased by the receiver 106 byincluding a higher density of the antennas 120. The PCB layers may beconnected to the single processor 122 and/or to dedicatedmicrocontroller for each antenna.

The receiver 106 may comprise a signal generator 124, a Digital toAnalog (D/A) convertor, a power amplifier, and one or more filters. Thesignal generator 124 of the receiver 106 may be configured to generateobject detection signals of various types, such as tones waves, chirpsignals, sinusoidal waves, and the like. In some implementations, wherethe object detection signals are tone waves, such tone waves may requireminimal filtering and are not modulated. Object detection antennas ofthe antennas 120 may transmit individual tone waves at a given frequency(F1). After a pre-defined time delay (T1), the object detection antennastransmit individual tone waves at a second frequency (F2). The signalgenerator 124 continues to change the frequency of each tone wave in apre-defined bandwidth (F1:Fn), such that each tone wave transmitted fromthe object detection antennas has a stepped-up frequency from thepreceding tone wave. In another embodiment, each tone wave transmittedfrom the object detection antennas has a stepped-down frequency from thepreceding tone wave. In yet another embodiment, each of the tone wavestransmitted from the object detection antennas may be generated at arandom frequency. These tone waves are reflected back from one or moreobjects. The object detection antennas may then receive reflected objectdetection signals from the one or more objects. The processor 122 thengenerates the location data of each respective object by determining alag time between emitting the object detection signals and receivingreflected object detection signal reflected from the respective objectat one or more object detection antennas of the receiver 106. Each ofthe reflected object detection signals received from an object has adifferent phase as received at the one or more object detection antennasin relation to one another based on an angular position of the object ina spatial direction in relation to the receiver. This allows theprocessor 122 to determine the location data associated with the object.

The signal generator 124 may produce non-continuous object detectionsignals having a frequency and amplitude that may be increased ordecreased randomly, incrementally, or at some predetermine interval. Inone example, the non-continuous object detection signals may be chirpsignals. When producing chirp signals, the frequency of the chirpsignals may change linearly over time, and thereby sweeps the frequencyband (F1:Fn) without creating concentrated energy in one particularfrequency, which may not be desirable. The chirp signal is also afrequency modulated pulse or signal where the modulated frequencytypically linearly increases from an initial frequency over a finitetime equaling a pulse width, for example, from 57 GHz to 66 GHz,providing a 9 GHz bandwidth, over the pulse width, for example, 10microseconds, and modulating an intermediate center frequency. Thismodulated signal may be stepped up and mixed to a higher signal carrierprior to transmission by the transmission antennas, such as 50 GHz to100 GHz.

In an embodiment, the chirp signals may be generated by various otherhardware means. One of the methods to produce chirp signals may includea group of lumped circuit elements. For example, the group of lumpedcircuit elements may include a group of the circuits that generate arespective group of staggered delay signals which are summed togetherand which provide the chirp signals. Another method of producing chirpsignals may comprise a metalized crystalline device that is subjected tothe high impulse signal to produce the linear frequency modulated chirpsignal. In yet another example method of producing chirp signal, DDSsystems may be employed. The DDS methods of generating the chirp signaltypically employ programmed memories having stored sinusoidal valuesthat are typically fed into the D/A converter, such that as the digitalvalues are cycled into the D/A converter at an increasing rate for acertain pulse width time, the analog converter produces the chirpsignals through that pulse width.

The chirp signal may be generated as a linear chirp signal and as anon-linear chirp signal. The nonlinear chirp signal may be selected froma group consisting of exponential, logarithmic, and arbitrarilyformulated chirp signal. The output frequency of the chirp signalsgenerated by the signal generator 124 may be pre-defined and stored inthe memory 126. The output frequency of the chirp signals generated bythe signal generator 124 may be defined by the processor 122. The signalgenerator 124 may produce multiple chirp signals for multipletransmission antennas where each of the chirp signal has a unique outputfrequency and amplitude. Some of the frequencies or amplitudes may bethe same. The signal generator 124 may also be configured to increase ordecrease the frequency and adjust the amplitude of the transmitted chirpsignals in relation to the change in time and distance. In one example,the frequency of the chirp signals transmitted by the transmissionantennas may be randomly changed (increased or decreased) between 1 to1000 times per second. The frequency may be increased at Nth second, andthen the frequency may be decreased at N+2th second.

The receiver antennas may receive reflected object detection signalsfrom an object of the one or more objects. The processor 122 thengenerates the location data of the respective object by determining alag time between emitting the object detection signals and receivingreflected object detection signal reflected from the object. The powerantennas may receive power waves 110 originating from the transmitters102. The power antennas may receive the power waves 110 produced by andtransmitted directly from the transmitters 102, or the power antennasmay harvest the power waves 110 from one or more pocket of energy 118,which may be a three-dimensional field in space resulting from theconvergence of a plurality of the power waves 110 produced by the one ormore transmitters 102. After the power waves 110 are received and/orenergy is gathered from the pocket of energy 118, circuitry (e.g.,integrated circuits, amplifiers, rectifiers, voltage conditioner) of thereceiver 106 may then convert the energy of the power waves (e.g., radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation) 110 to electrical energy (i.e.,electricity), which may be stored into a battery or used by theelectronic device 107 in which the receiver 106 may be embedded. In somecases, for example, a rectifier of the receiver 106 may translate theelectrical energy from AC to DC form, usable by the electronic device107. Other types of conditioning may be applied as well, in addition oras an alternative to conversion from AC to DC. For example, a voltageconditioning circuit may increase or decrease the voltage of theelectrical energy as required by the electronic device 107. Anelectrical relay may then convey the electrical energy from the receiver106 to the electronic device 107.

The receiver 106 may include or be associated with the processor 122 (ora microprocessor). The processor 122 may control, manage, and otherwisegovern the various processes, functions, and components of the receiver106. The processor 122 implements a system to control the operations ofthe receiver 106. The processor 122 may be an integrated circuit thatincludes logic gates, circuitry, and interfaces that are operable toexecute various processes and tasks for controlling the behavior of thereceiver 106 as described herein. The processor 122 may comprise orimplement a number of processor technologies known in the art;non-limiting examples of the processor include, but are not limited to,an x86 processor, an ARM processor, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing(RISC) processor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)processor, or a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,among others. The processor may also include a Graphics Processor (GPU)that executes the set of instructions to perform one or more processingoperations associated with handling various forms of graphical data,such as data received from a visual or thermal camera, or to produce agraphical user interface (GUI) allowing a user to configure and manageoperation of the receiver 106.

The processor 106 may be configured to process and communicate varioustypes of data (e.g., location data associated with one or more objectssuch as humans 119). Additionally or alternatively, the processor 106may manage execution of various processes and functions of the receiver106, and may manage the components of the receiver 106. In one example,the processor 122 may process the object detection signals reflected bythe one or more objects to identify the location of human objects whenthey enter a pre-defined distance from the receiver 106, and/or inhabitthe transmission field of the transmitters 102. In another example, theprocessor 122 may obtain and process sensor data of one or more objectscaptured by sensors (not shown), to identify human objects that mayenter a pre-defined distance from of the receiver 106, and/or mayinhabit the transmission field of the transmitter 102.

The communication component 126 of the receiver 106 may effectuate wiredand/or wireless communications to and from the communication component112 of the transmitter 102 of the wireless power transmission system inreal-time or near real-time, through communications signals generated byeither the communications component 126 of the receiver 106 and/or thecommunication component 112 of the transmitter 102. In one embodiment,the communications component 126 may be an embedded component of thereceiver 106; and in another embodiment, the communication component 126may be attached to the receiver 106 through any wired or wirelesscommunications medium. In some embodiments, the communication component126 of the receiver 106 may include electromechanical components (e.g.,processor) that allow the communication component 126 of the receiver106 to communicate various types of data (such as location dataassociated with the one or more objects) with one or more transmitters102 of the wireless power transmission system 100, and/or othercomponents of the receiver 106. The data may be communicated usingcommunications signals, based on predetermined wired or wirelessprotocols and associated hardware and software technology. Thecommunication component 126 of the receiver 106 may operate based on anynumber of communication protocols, such as Bluetooth®, Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi), Near-Field Communications (NFC), ZigBee, and others. However,it should be appreciated that the communication component 126 of thereceiver 106 is not limited to radio-frequency based technologies, butmay include radar, infrared waves

The data contained within the communications signals generated by thecommunication component 126 of the receiver 106 may also include devicestatus data, such as status information for the receiver 106, statusinformation for the electronic device 107 in which the receiver 106 maybe embedded, status information for the power waves 110 being receivedfrom the transmitter 102, and/or status information for the pockets ofenergy 118. The receiver 106 may also provide data in the communicationssignals generated by the communication component 126 to the transmitter102 regarding the present location of the receiver 106, location dataassociated to the one or more objects 119, the amount of charge receivedby the receiver 106, the amount of charge used by the electronic device107, and certain user account information, among other types ofinformation.

The data contained within the communications signals generated by thecommunication component 126 of the receiver 106 and transmitted to thetransmitter 102 may be used by the transmitter 102 to determine how thetransmitter 102 may transmit safe and effective power waves thatgenerate a pocket of energy, from which the receiver 100 may captureenergy and convert it to useable alternating current or direct currentelectricity. In one embodiment, using the communications signal, thereceiver 100 may communicate data that may be used, e.g., to identifylocation of one or more objects within the transmission field, determinesafe and effective waveform characteristics for the power waves, andhone the placement of pocket of energy, among other possible functions.

The memory 126 is a non-volatile storage device for storing data andinstructions, to be used by the processor 122. The memory 126 isimplemented with a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, a solidstate device, or an attachment to a network storage. The memory 126 maycomprise one or more memory devices to facilitate storage andmanipulation of program code, set of instructions, tasks, pre-storeddata including configuration files of receivers and electronic devices,and the like. Non-limiting examples of the memory 126 implementationsmay include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a secure digital (SD)card, a magneto-resistive read/write memory, an optical read/writememory, a cache memory, or a magnetic read/write memory. Further, thememory 126 includes one or more instructions that are executable by theprocessor 122 to perform specific operations. The support circuits forthe processor 122 include conventional cache, power supplies, clockcircuits, data registers, I/O interfaces, and the like. The I/Ointerface may be directly coupled to the memory 126 or coupled throughthe processor 122.

In some embodiments, the receiver 106 may be associated with the memory126 that may further include one or more mapping-memories, which may benon-transitory machine-readable storage media configured to storelocation data which may be data describing aspects of position of theone or more objects when they enter a pre-defined distance to thereceiver 106 and/or within the transmission field associated with thetransmitter 102. The memory 126 may also store mapping data that maycomprise sensor data. The sensor data may be generated by the receiver106 processors and/or sensor processors to identify sensitive objectssuch as human beings and animals located in proximity to the receiver106. The transmitter 102 may query the location data of objects storedin the records of the memory unit 126, so that the transmitter 102 mayuse the location data of objects as input parameters for determining thecharacteristics for transmitting the power waves 110 and where to formthe pocket of energy within the transmission field.

As mentioned, in some implementations, the receiver 106 may beintegrated into an electronic device 107, such that for all practicalpurposes, the receiver 106 and the electronic device 107 would beunderstood to be a single unit or product, whereas in some embodiments,the receiver 106 may be coupled to the electronic device 107 afterproduction. It should be appreciated that the receiver 106 may beconfigured to use the communications component of the electronic device107 and/or comprise the communications component of its own. As anexample, the receiver 106 might be an attachable but distinct unit orproduct that may be connected to an electronic device 107, to providewireless-power charging benefits to the electronic device 107. In theillustrated embodiment, the receiver 106 may comprise its owncommunications component 126 to communicate data with the transmitter102. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the receiver106 may utilize or otherwise operate with the communications componentof the electronic device. For example, the receiver 106 may beintegrated into a laptop computer during manufacturing of the laptop orat some later time. In this example, the receiver 106 may use thelaptop's communication component (e.g., Bluetooth®-based communicationscomponent) to communicate data with the transmitters, or the receiver106 may be integrated into a smartphone case and may utilize theconnectivity of the phone.

In operation of the receiver 106, the object detection signals withdifferent cycles are generated by the signal generator 124, and aretransmitted by the transmission antennas. The signal generator 124 mayvary the frequency of each object detection signal it generates. Thesignal generator 124 may also through a signal switch that switches orotherwise manipulates the characteristics of the object detectionsignals at a predetermined interval. The object detection signals thatare reflected from one or more objects are then received by the receiverantennas, and are stored in the memory 126. The processor 122 thenaccesses the memory 126 to process the reflected object detectionsignals. The processor 126 may obtain the reflected object detectionsignals data of each reflected object detection signal with differentcycles from the memory 126. The processor 122 then generates thelocation data of the respective object by determining a lag time foreach of the reflected object detection signals received at each of theantennas with different cycles from the receiver 102. The processor 122compares the lag time data obtained for each of the reflected objectdetection signals with different cycles as received at differentantennas and calculates a distance of the object from the receiver 106based on lag time data for each of reflected object detection signalswith different cycles and the specific orientation of the antennas. Theprocessor 122 then compares multiple distance values obtained of theobject based on lag time data for each of reflected object detectionsignals as received at different antennas, and determines the exactlocation of the object. In an embodiment, the range of distance measuredmay be from millimeters to meters. The location data of the object issaved in the memory 126.

In one embodiment, the location data of the object is then automaticallytransmitted by the communication component 126 of the receiver 106 tothe transmitter 102. In another embodiment, the communication component126 may send the location data of the object to the transmitter onreceiving a request from the transmitter 102. The transmitter 102 thentransmits power waves having one or more characteristics based on thelocation data associated with the object. Based on the location of theobject, the transmitter 102 may vary the one or more characteristics,e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, gain, direction of the power waves110 that are being transmitted by the transmitter 102 towards thelocation of the receiver 106 and/or location of the object 119. In oneexample, when the location data indicates that the range or distance ofthe object 119 to the receiver 106 is within a pre-defined proximity tothe receiver 106, a null space may be formed at or nearby the locationof the object and/or nearby the receiver 106. The null space may havezero or negligible energy at the particular region in space, which maybe caused by power waves converging at the region in space to formdestructive interference patterns. When power waves destructivelyconverge at the object location and their respective waveformcharacteristics are opposite each other (i.e., waveforms cancel eachother out), the amount of energy concentrated at the object locationdiminishes. In another example, the transmitter 102 may form a nullspace at the location of the object irrespective of whether the objectis within a pre-defined proximity or not from the receiver 106. In yetanother embodiment, the transmitter 102 may reduce the intensity of thepower waves that are being transmitted to the receiver 100 when theobject 119 is within a pre-defined proximity to the receiver 106.

FIG. 2 shows a method of transmission of power waves in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

At step 202, a receiver (RX) generates location data associated with oneor more objects. In one example, the receiver generates the locationdata associated with the one or more objects when the receiver isreceiving power waves from a transmitter and the one or more objectsenter within a pre-defined distance from the receiver. In anotherexample, the receiver is configured to continuously or periodicallygenerate and update location data associated with the one or moreobjects.

The receiver generates the location data associated with one or moreobjects based upon one or more object detection signals reflected fromeach object. The object detection signals received back from aparticular object indicate a location of the particular object inrelation to the receiver, allowing the receiver to generate locationdata based upon this relative location determined by the receiver.Because the transmitter may be aware of the location of the receiver,the location data of the particular object indicates to the transmitterthe location of the respective object in relation to a transmitter. Insome implementations, an object detection antenna coupled to thereceiver may emit a plurality of object detection signals, where eachrespective object detection signal has a successively stepped frequency.The object detection antenna then receives at least one object detectionsignal reflected back from the object. In one example, a single objectdetection antenna or a set of object detection antennas may be utilizedfor both transmitting object detection signals and receiving reflectedobject detection signals. In another example, one set of objectdetection antennas may be utilized for transmitting object detectionsignals and another set of object detection antennas may be utilized forreceiving reflected object detection signals.

A processor configured to control the receiver, then generates thelocation of the object in relation to the receiver based on the at leastone object detection signal being reflected back from the object. In oneexample, the location data of the object may be determined by measuringthe lag time of reflected object detection signals from the object. Thedetermined location of the object may then be saved in a memory of thereceiver by the processor.

At step 204, the receiver transmits the location data associated withthe object to the transmitter (TX). The location data of the object isthen transmitted by the receiver via one or more communications signalsgenerated by a communication component of the receiver containing thelocation data to the transmitter. In an embodiment, the communicationcomponent may send the location data of the object to the transmitter onreceiving a request from the transmitter.

At step 206, the receiver receives from one or more antennas of thetransmitter, one or more power waves having one or more waveformcharacteristics causing the one or more power waves to converge at alocation proximate to the receiver based on the location data generatedfor each respective object. The one or more power waves may alsoconverge destructively to form one or more null spaces based on the oneor more waveform characteristics of the one or more power waves. Thereceiver may be embedded in an electronic device that is being chargedby the one or more power waves received from the one or more antennas ofthe transmitter. Alternatively, the receiver may stop receiving powerwaves altogether based on the sensed location of the object to thereceiver.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of transmission of power waves in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

At step 302, a first set of one or more object detection antennas of areceiver (RX) emits a plurality of outbound object detection signals,where each respective object detection signal has a successively steppedfrequency with respect to a preceding object detection signal.

In an embodiment, a signal generator of the receiver may be configuredto generate object detection signals. In one example, the objectdetection signals generated may be tone waves that require minimalfiltering. In another example, each object detection signal generatedmay not modulated. In yet another example, the object detection signalsgenerated may be non-linear chirp signals, where the non-linear chirpsignals are selected from the group consisting of exponential,logarithmic, and arbitrarily formulated chirp waveform. The signalgenerator may also randomly change a frequency of one or more outbounddetection signals of the plurality of outbound detection signals. Thefrequency of the one or more outbound detection signals may be randomlychanged at a random interval range of, for example, 1 to 1000 times persecond.

At step 304, a second set of one or more object detection antennas ofthe receiver receives one or more inbound object detection signals thatare reflected from one or more objects. The characteristics and timingof inbound object detection signals may be used to determine variousaspects of location data for an object, such as range or distance fromthe receiver. More antennas and more inbound object detection signalsmay permit the receiver to generate more sophisticated forms of locationdata, such as multiple dimensions and greater accuracy. For example, aninbound object detection signal reflected back from an object indicatesa location of the object in relation to the receiver; in this case, therange or distance from the receiver. In some cases, multiple inboundobject detection signals reflected back from an object may havedifferent phase positions in relation to one another based on an angularposition of the object in a spatial direction in relation to thereceiver.

At step 306, a processor of the receiver generates location dataassociated with each object based on the one or more inbound objectdetection signals reflected back from the particular object. The inboundobject detection signals may be the result of the location of the objectin relation to the receiver, and thus the receiver may generate thelocation data based on the location of the object in relation to thereceiver. When received by the transmitter, the location data associatedwith each respective object indicates to the transmitter the location ofeach respective object in relation to a transmitter. In an embodiment,the processor of the receiver generates the location data of eachrespective object by determining a lag time between emitting theplurality of outbound object detection signals and receiving the atleast one inbound object detection signal reflected from the respectiveobject. The processor of the receiver also generates the location dataassociated with the object based on the different phase positions ofeach of the at least one inbound object detection signal.

At step 308, a communications component of the receiver transmitscommunication signals containing the location data associated with eachof the one or more objects to a transmitter (TX). In someimplementations, the communications component of the receiverautomatically transmits communication signals containing the locationdata associated with each of the one or more objects to the transmitter.In some implementations, the communications component of the receivertransmits communication signals containing the location data associatedwith each of the one or more objects to the transmitter on receiving arequest from the transmitter.

At step 310, another antenna of the receiver receives from thetransmitter one or more power waves having one or more characteristicsbased on the location data associated with the one or more objects. Inan embodiment, based on the location of the object, the transmitter mayvary the one or more characteristics, e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase,gain, direction of the power waves that are being transmitted by thetransmitter towards the location of the receiver and/or location of theobject. In one example, when the location of the object is within apre-defined proximity to the receiver, a null space may be formed at thelocation of the object caused by destructive interference of waves atthat location. The destructive interference may occur when power wavesdestructively converge at the object location and their respectivewaveform characteristics are opposite each other (i.e., waveforms canceleach other out), thereby diminishing the amount of energy concentratedat the object location. In another example, the transmitter may form anull space at the location of the object irrespective of whether theobject is within a pre-defined proximity or not. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmitter may reduce the intensity of the power wavesthat are being transmitted to the receiver. In another example, thereceiver may stop receiving power waves altogether based on the sensedlocation of the object to the receiver.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order.Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the orderof the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader throughthe description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

Embodiments implemented in computer software may be implemented insoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement these systems and methods is not limiting of the invention.Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and methods weredescribed without reference to the specific software code beingunderstood that software and control hardware can be designed toimplement the systems and methods based on the description herein.

When implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithmdisclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable softwaremodule, which may reside on a computer-readable or processor-readablestorage medium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and tangible storage mediathat facilitate transfer of a computer program from one place toanother. A non-transitory processor-readable storage media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such non-transitory processor-readable media maycomprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othertangible storage medium that may be used to store desired program codein the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessedby a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, includecompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/orinstructions on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless power transmission, themethod comprising: generating, by a receiver, location data associatedwith one or more objects based upon one or more object detection signalsreflected from the one or more objects and indicating a location of eachrespective object in relation to the receiver; transmitting, by thereceiver, one or more communications signals containing the locationdata to the transmitter; and receiving, by the receiver, from one ormore antennas of the transmitter one or more power waves having one ormore waveform characteristics, wherein the characteristics are based onthe location data generated for each respective object.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein generating the location data for therespective object further comprises: emitting, by a detection antennacoupled to the receiver, a plurality of object detection signals, eachrespective object detection signal having a successively steppedfrequency.
 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprisingreceiving, by the detection antenna coupled to the receiver, at leastone detection signal reflected back from the object.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3, further comprising determining, by a processorconfigured to control the receiver, the location of the object inrelation to the receiver based on the at least one object detectionsignal reflected back from the object.
 5. The method according to claim1, wherein the one or more power waves converge destructively to formone or more null spaces based on the one or more waveformcharacteristics of the one or more power waves.
 6. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the receiver is coupled to a communicationscomponent configured to transmit the one or more communications signalscontaining the location data of each object to the transmitter.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is embedded in anelectronic device that is being charged by the one or more power wavesreceived from the one or more antennas of the transmitter.
 8. A methodof wireless power transmission, the method comprising: emitting, by afirst antenna of a receiver, a plurality of outbound object detectionsignals, each respective object detection signal having a successivelystepped frequency with respect to a preceding object detection signal;receiving, by a second antenna of the receiver, one or more inboundobject detection signals that are reflected from one or more objects,wherein at least one inbound object detection signal is reflected froman object, and wherein the at least one inbound object detection signalindicates a location of the object in relation to the receiver;generating, by a processor of the receiver, location data associatedwith each respective object based on the one or more inbound objectdetection signals; transmitting, by a communications component of thereceiver, to a transmitter one or more communication signals containingthe location data associated with each of the one or more objects; andreceiving, by a third antenna of the receiver, from the transmitter oneor more power waves having one or more characteristics, wherein thecharacteristics are based on the location data associated with the oneor more objects.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein each of theat least one inbound object detection signals received from the objecthas a phase position based on an angular position of the object inrelation to the receiver, and a spatial direction in relation to thereceiver.
 10. The method according to claim 9, further comprisingdetermining, by the receiver, the location data associated with theobject based on the different phase positions of each of the at leastone inbound object detection signal.
 11. The method according to claim8, wherein generating the location data of each respective objectfurther comprises determining, by the receiver, a lag time betweenemitting the plurality of outbound object detection signals andreceiving the at least one inbound object detection signal reflectedfrom the respective object.
 12. The method according to claim 8, whereinthe plurality of outbound object detection signals are generated asnon-linear chirp signals, and wherein the non-linear chirp signals are awaveform selected from the group consisting of exponential, logarithmic,and arbitrarily formulated.
 13. The method according to claim 8, whereinemitting the plurality of outbound detection signals further comprisesrandomly changing, by the first antenna of the receiver, a frequency ofone or more outbound detection signals of the plurality of outbounddetection signals, wherein the frequency of the one or more outbounddetection signals is randomly changed at a random interval range of 1 to1000 times per second.
 14. The method according to claim 8, wherein theplurality of outbound detection signals are not modulated.
 15. Areceiver in a wireless power transmission system comprising: a firstantenna configured to emit a plurality of outbound detection signals,each outbound detection signal having a successively stepped frequency;a second antenna configured to receive a plurality of inbound detectionsignals reflected from one or more objects, wherein one or moredetection signals are reflected from an object; a processor configuredto generate location data associated with each respective object basedon the one or more inbound detection signals received from therespective object, wherein the location data of each respective objectindicates the location of the respective object in relation to thereceiver; a communications component configured to transmit to thetransmitter communications signals containing the location dataassociated with the one or more objects; and a third antenna configuredto receive from the transmitter one or more power waves having one ormore characteristics causing the one or more power waves to converge ata location proximate to the receiver based on the location dataassociated with the one or more objects.
 16. The receiver according toclaim 15, wherein the plurality of outbound detection signals correspondto chirp waves having a frequency that is continually varied.
 17. Thereceiver according to claim 15, wherein the one or more inbound objectdetection signals reflected back from the object have a phase positionbased on an angular position of the object in relation to the receiver,and a spatial direction of the object in relation to the receiver. 18.The receiver according to claim 17, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to determine the location data associated with the objectbased on the different phase positions of the one or more inbound objectdetection signals.
 19. The receiver according to claim 15, wherein theprocessor is further configured to determine the location data of eachrespective object by measuring a lag time between emitting the pluralityof outbound object detection signals and receiving the inbound detectionsignals reflected from the respective object.
 20. The receiver accordingto claim 15, wherein the one or more power waves are selected from thegroup consisting of electromagnetic wave, radio wave, microwave,acoustics, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance.